Mental health to be focus of conference

January 25, 2008|From staff reports

'Dedicated to Recovery' Thursday "Dedicated to Recovery," a conference devoted to mental health, will be Thursday, Jan. 31, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Avera Education Center, 709 Sixth Ave. S.E. The conference is “devoted to looking at the whole picture involved in mental health maintenance and recovery,” according to a news release. “It is designed with the consumer in mind.” It is also an opportunity for mental health and chemical dependency professionals to gain further understanding. A panel of local people will tell their own recovery stories. A light lunch will be provided at no charge. The conference begins at 10 a.m. with an introduction by Phyllis Arends, the executive director of NAMI South Dakota. NAMI stands for National Alliance on Mental Illness. The conference will look at some of the support groups offered by NAMI. NAMI South Dakota is a family support group geared to family members and friends who have a loved one coping with mental illness. Double Trouble is a support group for consumers with a mental illness and an addiction problem. A new program coming on board in South Dakota is called NAMI Connections. “This support group is led by two trained co-facilitators who are consumers that are successfully coping with their mental illness,” according to the press release. Among those making presentations will be Mark Arneson and Bill Schroll. Schroll is president of the NAMI SD Consumer Council, and Arneson is the National Consumer Council Vice Chairman, a part of the Consumer Council Executive Committee.